January 2009

Kind of like a guinea pig, but with longer legs, agoutis range between Central and South America and some of the nearby islands. This baby Brazilian agouti was born January 11, 2009 at the the LA Zoo. These rodents are remarkable for their ability to jump up to six feet straight up from a standstill.

Agoutis tend to eat fallen fruits and nuts as well as succulent plants. One of the few animals capable of breaking open the pods of the Brazil nut tree, they have a symbiotic relationship with the tree. After they open the pods, agoutis bury the extra nuts over a wide area. The seeds that aren’t later retrieved by the agoutis for food will grow into new trees.

This week the Knoxville Zoo became one of only four AZA accredited zoos to hatch critically endangered Burmese Star Tortoises. These little babies wriggled out of their shells to much fanfare, as habitat destruction and poaching has decimated the indigenous population in Myanmar. Can you believe anyone would want to eat these little guys (even if they do look grouchy)?!

This past Monday mama Bititi gave birth to her second calf at the San Francisco Zoo. Giraffe gestation lasts between 14 and 15 months and the female gives birth standing up, a six foot drop for the calf’s grand entrance into the world. Newborn giraffes can be up to six feet tall when born. Life span for a giraffe is between 20 and 25 years in the wild and up to 28 years in captivity.

The Oregon Zoo's elephant calf, Samudra, turned five months old last week. ZooBorns has brought you a few updates on baby Sumadra and his hijinx. Now we find he has become quite the soccer player as well.

The Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica rescues injured and orphaned sloths. Many of these sloths are released back into the wild but often stick around the neighborhood.

This series of photos follows Joy, a baby sloth born on October 25, 2008 to two of the sanctuary's residents, Juliett and Gigia. Mama Juliet came to the sanctuary with severe electrical burns. However since then she has thrived and become a sweet and gentle resident. Father Gigia was rescued from street vendors when he was a week old. Joy is the pair's their fourth baby.

In addition to rehabilitation, Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary promotes conservation and sloth interests within Costa Rica. Joy and her parents are two-toed sloths, also called Choloepus. Many many more photos below the fold.

The Houston Zoo's Kipp Aquarium has seven tiny new
additions to its growing family. (The Zoo) is proud to announce the birth of
seven baby stingrays. Their mom and dad are checkerboard freshwater
stingrays, a species from South America. Dad can be seen swimming in
Kipp Aquarium, while mom and babies are staying in their cozy tanks in
the Aquarium Quarantine until they are ready to go out and meet the
public.

What is it about some baby monkey's that make them look like tiny, adorable, old men? Clearly baby langurs provided the inspiration for Benjamin Button. On a serious note, Francois' langurs are an endangered species and this little fellow born at the Lincoln Park Zoo will contribute to a Species Survival Plan, aiding conservation efforts.

These reptilian babies are as cute as can be, and they were photographed just one week ago (on my birthday). Get on over to the Frankfurt Zoo to catch a firsthand glimpse. This croc won't be so cuddly for long!

The Frankfurt Zoological Garden
is the zoo of Frankfurt, Germany. It features over 5,000 animals of
more than 600 species on more than 13 hectares. The zoo was founded in
1858 and is the second oldest Zoo in Germany. It lies in the eastern
part of the Innenstadt (inner city).

At only three weeks old, Conchita, a tiny critically endangered monkey born at ZSL London Zoo is already a beacon of hope for her species.

With only a few white-naped mangabey monkeys left struggling for survival in the wild after deforestation and hunting has decimated their populations, each individual monkey is incredibly precious. Conchita is only the second white-naped mangabey ever born in the UK.

Continue reading to learn more about Conchita and her species' plight.

Thinking about getting an iPhone? Well you no longer have a choice as ZooBorns is now available as an iPhone app! Get your fix of daily ZooBorns pictures, share posts with your friends, and quickly link to the site to learn more about our latest critters. Click here to get the freeapp now!

Thanks to our friends at Concentric Sky for developing this great looking app. If you do download it, a 5 star review on iTunes would be much appreciated.